Roman de Gare
The term roman de gare refers to popular literature. The title was inspired by some reviews written about my work in recent years, which compared my movies to photo romances or romans de gare (books sold in train stations: it designates an easy-read for the traveler, romance or thriller best-sellers). I said to myself: “Why not, I will demonstrate that if you extract the best from this genre, it can very well compete with more glorious ones.” I played the game. I admit that it was a sort of provocation, a reply to a long ongoing debate. I do have an awkward relationship with the elite, ever since A Man and a Woman. But the film is also an open letter to film audiences, who often encouraged me and were moved by my movies.
I’m often asked why I directed Roman de Gare under a pseudonym (Hervé Picard). Essentially, I wanted to send a message to those who dismiss my work. I wanted one of my movies to be seen for what it really was and not as a Claude Lelouch film. Hence my choice of remaining anonymous. We thought of Romain Gary who won his second Goncourt award (the most prestigious French literary award) for a book he wrote under the alias Emile Ajar. I thought that all artists have this fantasy sooner or later, because they suffer from a public image of themselves that may have been long established but doesn’t correspond anymore to who they really are. Artists evolve. You believe that they always create the same painting, the same symphony, the same film, but it’s simply not true. I directed 41 movies and I’m convinced that each one of them was a draft for the following one. We are students who make a living studying, sometimes in quite comfortable conditions. I never stop searching for something I haven’t yet found, and, I think, that if I do find it one day, I will stop making movies. But I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
Roman de Gare is a mixture of genres, as are most of my films, but here probably more than usual. I keep changing moods; I play a game with my viewers, asking them to be active participants in a playful movie. Of course, there is one thread that links my films together, which is love. It’s the most essential subject and one which plays an active role in Roman de Gare.
